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Transcript

Crean steps up push for Party reform

AM Archive - Wednesday, 17 July , 2002 00:00:00

Reporter: Alexandra Kirk

LINDA MOTTRAM: Labor leader Simon Crean is stepping up his push for party reform with a special conference in October to wind back union and factional power, end branch stacking and make it easier to pick better candidates.

But the modernisation agenda is being resisted by some of the country's most powerful unionists with whom Mr Crean met last night in Melbourne, trying to win them over, so he can wind up party reform and move on to policy.

From Canberra, Alexandra Kirk reports.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: Simon Crean has put his leadership on the line. He has to get a win on reforming the ALP, or be seen to get a win, his mantra being that if Labor doesn't modernise it won't Government.

Opposition from some sections of the powerful NSW right-wing faction and senior trade unionists is entrenched, and Mr Crean is keen to keep the party reform agenda moving.

The ALP will hold as special rules conference in October, the first in more than twenty years, to formally decide on the changes needed to put into effect recommendations by Labor veterans Neville Wran and Bob Hawke, or those bits that are accepted by the Party's supreme body, the National Executive.

In Melbourne last night Simon Crean met a group of the country's most powerful union leaders. This morning they're refusing to comment, saying it was a private meeting despite previously not feeling at all constrained about talking.

One person did describe the meeting as constructive.

The union leaders stretched across all factions. Simon Crean stressed the importance of winning Federal Government.

One source says part of the trade union backlash about party reform arises from stoushes unions are having with State Labor Governments about workers compensation, wage disputes and industrial relations reform.

The challenge for Simon Crean is to get key Federal union officials to see that and separate those problems from his reform push.

Mr Crean wants to stamp out branch stacking, clean up preselections and break down the dominance of the factions and unions. He wants to move quickly onto policy development to give Labor a chance of getting some traction with voters, rather than getting bogged down in damaging debates about union power which the Government capitalises on.

An insider says his message last night was, 'look forward, not dwell on Labor's past glories.'

Simon Crean has been at pains to insist that no one is blaming the union movement for last year's election defeat. He's asking the Labor movement to look beyond factional and union power bases.

But many of the union leaders at last night's meeting are yet to publicly endorse that vision, choosing instead, at least for now, to prolong the negotiations in order to try and extract a few concessions, knowing how badly Simon Crean needs a win.